A University of Virginia Student Slipped Into a Coma After Drinking Too Much Soy Sauce

The most recent installment of The Journal of Emergency Medicine told the story of a University of Virginia student who slipped into a coma in 2011. The 19-year-old was a Zeta Psi pledge, and as part of his initiation, he was ordered to drink soy sauce. After consuming a quart of it, he reportedly began foaming at the mouth and convulsing before being rushed to the hospital.

According to Dr. David J. Carlberg of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, the student slid into a coma because of hypernatremia, a condition caused by too much salt in the bloodstream. The kid eventually came to three days after doctors flushed the salt out of his system with sugar water. According to Dr. Carlberg, he was the first person that "deliberately overdosed" on that much salt and survived without sustaining any long-term brain issues.

The incident led to the Zeta Psi house being shut down, but only temporarily. Now they can torture other pledges with assorted sauces and condiments.